On 26 Feb 15:00-16:00 (CET), our third webinar features Lucia Bainotti and her chapter on the composite careers of creators, and Claire Marzo and her chapter comparing labour law and social protection of influencers in France and the United Kingdom

On 26 Feb 10:00-11:00 (CET), our second webinar features @ziyingm.bsky.social and her chapter on cross-platform labour across Chinese and US-based platforms, and Tjaša Petročnik and her chapter assessing EU regulatory frameworks in the context of creator labour on YouTube

On 20 Feb 15:00-16:00 (CET), our first webinar features @laade.bsky.social and her chapter on platform discretion in content moderation on professional Twitch streamers, and Malcolm Katrak and Shardool Kulkarni and their chapter on the regulation of influencer labour in India

Tjaša Petročnik examines content creation as labour at the supranational level, assessing how EU regulatory frameworks address exploitation concerns in digital platforms' business models and value realisation.

Andreia de Oliveira analyses Brazil’s growing digital influencer market, focusing on consumer behaviour and key regulatory issues.

Malcolm Katrak and Shardool Kulkarni discuss India's regulation, critiquing the failure to regulate influencer labour as exemplified by the 2020 TikTok ban, despite a constitutional mandate for socioeconomic justice.

Claire Marzo sheds light on the applicable legal regimes in France and the United Kingdom regarding influencer labour and social protection.

@ziyingm.bsky.social explores labour conditions across Chinese and US-based platforms, illustrating how creators develop self-governance tactics, cross-platform labour and navigate platform poaching.

@laade.bsky.social examines the contractual and legal framework of platform discretion in content moderation through Twitch's sudden termination of affiliate or partnership agreements with streamers, revealing material and immaterial harms.

@ershovd.bsky.social reviews recent studies in economics and management, assessing the impact of regulations on incentives and market outcomes and highlighting mechanisms by which transparency regulations can distort creator incentives.

Sijun Shen and Crystal Abidin examine two case studies of wanghong scandals, highlighting strategies and attempts to navigate scandals and leverage crises as opportunities within China’s precarious digital economy.

Lucia Bainotti explores how micro-influencers navigate the influencer industry by combining activities and roles in ‘composite careers’ that include full-time creator, multitasker, and passionate second-shifter.

Veronica Barassi examines ‘sharenting’ and the blurred lines between parent and child identities, focusing on children's privacy and agency and ‘visibility’ as a social category.

We are really grateful for our wonderful contributors who feature insights from media studies, communication, economics and law, and @elgarpublishing.bsky.social and @benbooth157.bsky.social for all their efforts and support.

The book's contributions seek to advance our understanding of theoretical underpinnings, empirical strategies, practices and harms, and legal implications of influencer labour.

These two dimensions often create legal tensions, such as the legal qualification of labour and transactions, leading to significant questions regarding underlying conceptual frameworks and disciplinary perspectives within creator culture.

This characterisation of influencer labour as an invisible effort and an economic enterprise highlights the overlapping identities that underpin the influencer: a personal identity that reflects expectations of relatability and authenticity alongside a professional, entrepreneurial identity.

On the other hand, when looking at the influencers who generate income by monetising their content and becoming economic actors, they fall under legal frameworks that not only regulate their working conditions but also impose certain obligations.

The collection addresses the cultural, economic and legal dimensions of content creation as a form of labour. On the one hand, influencers engage in various unpaid activities with the hope of monetising their content, benefitting audiences and platforms.